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Jim Corr
Sharon Corr
Caroline Corr
Andrea Corr
With their unique blend of contemporary and traditional Irish
musics, 143/Lava/Atlantic recording artists, the Corrs, have
established themselves as true originals. On their long-awaited
new TALK ON CORNERS, the Dundalk, Ireland group, Jim (keyboards/guitars/vocal),
Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle), Caroline (drums, bodhran,
vocals) and Sharon (violin, vocals) create a sound steeped
in the tradition of their homeland, but invested with a vibrant
and electric modern pop flavor. On tracks like the dramatic
"Only When I Sleep," (co-written by the band with
producer Oliver Lieber, the son of legendary songsmith Jerry
Lieber) or the harmony-laden first single, "Dreams"
(which also appears on Lava/Atlantic"s LEGACY: A TRIBUTE
TO FLEETWOOD MAC'S RUMOURS), the family Corr concoct a delightful
and emotional music unlike any on today's popular scene.
As with their acclaimed 1995 debut, FORGIVEN, NOT FORGOTTEN,
the new album was helmed in part by fourteen-time Grammy Award-winning
producer David Foster. "We feel he understands our music
and the way we want our music to sound," Caroline says
of the Corrs' musical mentor. "He's fantastic with vocals
and harmonies. He always comes up with some other idea that
you might not have thought of."
Foster was but one of a handful of producers to work with
the Corrs on TALK ON CORNERS. In their quest to add a fresh
new attitude, the quartet opted to collaborate with a number
of other well-known studio hitmakers. The list includes Glen
Ballard (Alanis Morissette), Billy Steinberg (Madonna), Rick
Nowells (Belinda Carlisle), and Jim Corr himself. For the
album's big ballads' "I Never Loved You Anyway"
and "Don't Say You Love Me" the band teamed up with
one of pop's songwriting legends, Academy Award-winning lyricist
Carole Bayer Sager.
"We just decided to try new things," Andrea says,
"to match up with other people. It was all great fun."
"Each song is different," she continues, noting
the record's lyrical themes. "There's love, life, tragedy,
hope, dreams, fantasy. It's whatever the music inspires."
The striking TALK ON CORNERS also sees a remarkable growth
and significant change from FORGIVEN, NOT FORGOTTEN, incorporating
a more melancholy and adventurous tint to their musical palette.
"From all the performances we did on tour around the
world," Andrea says, "we had developed in such a
way that we wanted to be a little edgier."
"We learned an awful lot from being on stage," Jim
adds, "so we made it slightly more guitar-oriented. It's
a harder, rockier sound, but it still maintains the sound
of the Corrs."
Highlights of the album include the dynamic "Queen of
Hollywood" (whose lyric supplies "TALK ON CORNERS"
with its title), "Paddy McCarthy," a new instrumental
that harkens back to the Corrs' folk roots, as well as a duet
with the Chieftains on a Celtic version of Jimi Hendrix's
"Little Wing," replete with harp, fiddles, flutes,
tin whistle, bodhran, and uillean pipes.
"They called us and asked us to do a song with them for
their album," Caroline says of teaming with Paddy Maloney's
renowned traditional Irish troupe. "It was (producer/manager)
John Hughes' idea to ask them to do "Little Wing,"
and it turned out fantastic. They're great musicians. We just
sat down together and just played."
Internationally, "TALK ON CORNERS" has continued
the incredible streak of successes begun with the Corrs' debut.
"FORGIVEN, NOT FORGOTTEN" made a huge splash on
a worldwide scale, racking up worldwide sales of nearly 2
million: certified gold in France, Canada, Norway, and Japan;
double platinum in Spain, Denmark, and New Zealand; and an
unprecedented eight-times platinum in Australia and Ireland
(where it is one of the all-time best-selling debuts by a
native recording group in the country's history). In less
than six months, "TALK ON CORNERS" has already logged
sales of 1.1 million worldwide, and is still going strong.
After debuting in the #1 spot on Ireland's pop chart, the
album has been certified six-times platinum, while in Spain,
the double-platinum "TALK ON CORNERS" has been in
the Top 10 for more than two months.
The Corrs have made innumerable TV appearances around the
globe, including: Kelly Live in Ireland; the U.K.'s Richard
& Judy and Surprise Surprise (hosted by former British
chart-topper and Beatles' pal, Cilla Black); and The Jose
Carerras Gala in Germany; not to mention their performances
on such American programs as Late Night with Conan O'Brien,
Today, and CBS This Morning, along with a classic guest slot
on Fox's popular nighttime soap opera, Beverly Hills 90210.
An aspiring actress in her spare time (of which there is very
little), Andrea been increasingly involved in making movies.
In Warner Bros.' first fully animated film, The Quest For
Camelot, she serves as the singing voice of the heroine, Kayley
(The film's Curb/Warner Sunset/Atlantic soundtrack features
two new David Foster/Carole Bayer Sager-penned Corrs tracks:
"On My Father's Wings" and Andrea's duet with country
music superstar Bryan White, "Looking Through Your Eyes").
In addition, Andrea has now appeared in two films by director
Alan Parker: The Commitments and Evita. In filming the latter,
as Jim, Sharon, and Caroline escaped on a well-deserved vacation,
Andrea flew to Budapest to portray Juan Peron's mistress.
"It was brilliant," Andrea says of working with
the film's star, Madonna. "She was fantastic. I was nervous,
but I just did my bit."
With their ever-growing fanbase in mind, the siblings have
taken their show on the road, receiving standing ovations
as support to such artists as Celine Dion and Michael Bolton,
as well as on their own. An appearance before a crowd of 50,000
at 1996's big Fleadh festival in London's Finsbury Park with
Sting and Van Morrison was a triumph, prompting The London
"Times" to declare that "The Corrs took only
forty minutes on the main stage to demonstrate why they are
a good bet for stardom."
"It's our first priority," Sharon says of the Corrs
live experience. "It's where you really reach your audience,
where you really communicate with them. And as musicians,
we just love playing."
With "TALK ON CORNERS," the Corrs are set to continue
on their path towards bringing their unique brand of Celtic
pop-rock to the rest of the known universe. Recent months
have seen the group wowing capacity crowds in Australia/New
Zealand, Japan, and of course, Europe. Among the highlights
was a St. Patrick's Day show at London's Royal Albert Hall,
a concert which was televised by the BBC and on America's
Odyssey cable network. The sold-out show featured a special
guest appearance by Fleetwood Mac founder Mick Fleetwood for
a rendition of "Dreams."
The time has now come for the Corrs to bring their live magic
to North America. The group will spend part of the spring
and early summer as part of the annual Guinness Fleadh roadshow,
a festival tour that unites U.S. and British folk artists,
rootsy rock 'n' rollers, and country & western combos
with practitioners of traditional (and not-so-traditional)
Irish music.
As Andrea says, explaining the Corrs' popularity around the
planet, "I think the reason for that is our music is
very melodic. Also, there's something about the traditional
Irish music element that, all around the world, seems to capture
everybody's heart."
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